Clothes wringers



Jan. 7, 1958 F. RPSIBBALD CLOTHES WRINGERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 24. 1955 Jan. 7, 1958 F. R. SIBBALD CLOTHES WRINGERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 24, 1955 f iw CLOTHES WRINGERS Frederick Roy Sibbald, Greenford, England, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 24, 1955, Serial No. 517,833

Claims priority, application Great Britain June 30, 1954 4 Claims. (Cl. 68-262) This invention relates to clothes wringers' and is particularly, but not exclusively applicable to power operated-clothes wringers.

:According to the present invention a wringer for clothes wherein the bearings for the upper and lower rollers arecarried by frame members hinged together about an axis parallel to those of the .rollers, the hinge pin being constituted by a torsion bar which also forms a spring to urge the frame member together to provide the operating pressure between the rollers. v v v Preferably the connection preventing or limiting relativeltu'rning between one frame member and the .end of the torsion. bar connected to it is releasable to permit free separation of the rollers and means may be provided for keeping the torsion bar stressed when the frame member is released from it. Thus in one arrangement one end of the torsion bar is anchored to one frame member whilst an arm projecting from its other end engages a stop carried by the same frame member, when released from the other frame member. The releasable frame member may carry a detent which can be projected or retracted to engage or clear the arm carried by the torsion bar. This detent conveniently has a cam surface so as to lift the arm from its stop and transfer the pressure to the rollers, even before they are forced apart by an appreciable thickness of clothes. The detent may be carried by a vertical shaft and from its projected position may be capable of being retracted by rotation of the shaft in either direction.

In one arrangement the anchored end of the torsion bar is secured to a stressing arm provided with means such as a screw for turning it relatively to the frame member to which it is connected, to stress the torsion bar.

The invention may be carried into practice in a number of ways, but one specific embodiment will be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the wringer in the open position with the operating lever in its operative position and the lower roller shown fragmentary, and in broken lines,

Figure 2 is a rear elevation, partly in section, of the wringer of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a sectional side elevation on the line 33 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a plan view of the wringer, partly in section, with the upper frame member and upper roller removed.

In the specific embodiment to be described, the invention is applied to a power wringer for a washing machine. The casing or frame of the wringer is afforded by a pair of frame members in the form of castings and 11 of which the upper member 10 carries the bearings 12 and 13 for an upper wringer roller 14, while the lower frame member 11 carries the bearing 15 for one end of a lower roller 16, and the bearing 17 for a driving stub shaft 18. The lower frame member is provided with drain holes 23.

The upper roller 14 is securely fixed in position in the upper framemember by U-shaped brackets which form the lower halves of the bearings 12 and 13. The lower roller 16, however, is loosely mounted, the bearing 15 being of open form. As shown in Figure 4, the stub shaft 18 has a pair of driving dogs 19 which engage a co-operating slot 20 in the end of the lower roller shaft.

For power operation, drive is transmitted to the lower. roller through a worm gear 21 mounted in a gear casing 22 integral with and at one end of the lower frame member.

The two frame members are hinged together about an axis parallel to those of the rollers by means of .a' torsion bar 25 passing through a pair of lugs 26 formed.

on the upper frame member and a pair of lugs 27 formed on the lower frame member. The centre portion of the torsion bar is bowed upwards slightly in order that the clothes can clear it asvthfiy Pass through the wringer.

One end 29 of the torsion bar is bent at right anglesto form an operating arm whilst the other, anchored, endf 30of the torsion bar'is of increased diameter and is end of the increased diameter portion is grooved to receive a retaining ring or circlip 33 by which the tor-f T sion bar is held against longitudinal movement. As shown: in Figure'l the free end of the stressing arm 32 is forked at 34 and an adjusting bolt 35 passes between the limbs of the fork and is threaded into the lower fixed frame member 11.

The parts are so formed that when the torsion bar is unstressed with its operating arm 29 resting on a raised stop 36 on the lower frame member, the stressing arm 32 will be at some distance from the surface of the frame member into which the adjusting screw fits. Accordingly by tightening the adjusting bolt 35 and pulling the stressing arm 32 down towards the frame member the torsion bar can be pre-stressed. As shown in Figure 3 the extent to which a particular wringer may have its torsion bar stressed is governed by the thickness of a spacing sleeve 37 lying between the frame member and the stressing arm.

Extending vertically through a bore in the upper frame member, adjacent the operating arm 29 of the torsion bar, is a locking shaft 40 carrying at its lower end a detent in the form of a foot 41, which can be turned with the shaft so as either to extend underneath the operating arm 29 of the torsion bar or to be retracted clear of it. As is clearly shown in Figure 2, the upper surface of the foot 41 is inclined to form a cam surface 43 so that as the shaft is turned to engage the foot with the operating arm, the latter is lifted slightly so as to transfer the pressure from the stop 36 to the upper frame member and hence to the rollers.

At its upper end the locking shaft 40' carries an operaating lever 42 projecting forwards, i. e. towards the user, for easy manual operation. It will be appreciated that the rollers can be released by moving this lever either to the left or to the right from the locked position. A spring 45 is provided which surrounds the torsion bar 30, one end 46 of the spring bearing on a reinforcement rib 47 of the upper frame member, whilst the other end bears on the inside of the lower frame member as shown in Figure 3. In this way the two frame members are biased away from one another and accordingly when the operating lever is moved away from the locked position the frame members and the rollers are immediately separated. The spring 45 will of course be very much weaker than the torsion bar, so as not to interfere with the action of the latter in pressing the rollers together.

The gear casing 22 is provided with a spigot 44 to position ;rota'tioni in a given'direcition jviill ovfringithe 5 clothes "awayjfrom' the washing maehinecontainer vvhilst in another position it will wringlthemtowards it. v

'It will be appreciated thatjthe construc'tion'ldescribed provides .a' simple arrangement 'whei'eby:the same member, namely the torsionbar, providesfthi'hinge betweenthe framemember, and also, the spring'whichbiasses them and therollerstpgether.

"When'large articles are fed through the wrin'gergithe rollers and the frame are, separated againstrthe act onrgof the .to'rsionbar. :'.In order to .overcomerany .ri'skoff clothes. or the peratorsfingers' being' pinchedl between the frames when "they return to the normal; pos'it Qnr'gl larlds' .,4 8.ea.lfe providedateach end which coverflthe space betweenlfthe frames.

"What'I claim and'desire to secure byl LettersfjBatent ,is:. 1. A clothes wringer comprising, a pair 'o'fframe mem hers, a pair of rollers, one-in eachfof saidjframe.,members, a torsion :bar spring ,forming air hingedxonnection between said frame members'fortrelative movement of theflatterand corresponding relative-movement o'f sairl rollers, saidtorsion bar being vunitarysfor.the'rletlgthaof said rollers an'd having an end fixed to one. of said frame members and therother end movab1e,..andf.lath means on';the otheriframe member mounted for movement to one position into engagement with... aidtractable end for; said ,torsion bar to transfer the -tor-s n bar pressure :to A said rollers j by relative tmovementr ofjthgjlatter about said torsion bar hinge, and said latch means mov- 'able to a second position out of engagement with said movable end to release saidz'other frame member and said rollers from the force of said torsion bar and permit relative movement of said frame members about said torsion bar hinge. '7 I 2. A clothes wringerv asadescrihedlinrclaim 1, and stop means arranged With respect to said one frame member engageable with asaijd ,movablezaendzmfiasaidrtorsionf whenereleased fromnsaidalatchs meansnt ositio :said movable end for reengagement with said -la't'ch means upon movement-pf the latter .-to ,said ,one, pqsition to l transfer" the 'torsionbar pressure to said rollers.

rtA- elothestwringerras :deseri-he'diimtelaim 1 g'za'nd said 5 latch means including cam,meansne ngageable with said movable end of said tors'ior'rbar to rotate the latter and increase the pressure transferred to said rollers during movementofisaidzlatchtmeanspto itsasaidaone position.

4.1Asclothes. wringerras.descrihedimclaim means at alltimes securing said fixedlenda baratotsaid tone frame .membervanduinclud nga mean to adjustlthe pressore exerted by lsaid torsion'abar; on -said 1?" rollers.

IifRse'ferenceslCited inlzthel' "filerofrthis patent 1 UNITEDtSTATES PATENTS headdress; aidsmrsiqn; 

